NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Darwin's Leaf-eared Mouse
Phyllotis darwini (Waterhouse, 1837)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
The Darwin's Leaf-eared Mouse (Phyllotis darwini) is a species of rodent in the Cricetidae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Image from Plate XXIII. from George Robert Waterhouse Mammalia
George Robert Waterhouse, William Dickes? · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Darwin's leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis darwini) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.
It has terrestrial habits and is endemic to coastal central and northern Chile. It is also found in the Atacama Desert. Members of the species have been found in the Llanos de Challe National Park of the Atacama Desert. As a nocturnal rodent, P. darwini utilizes the varying degrees of moonlight to determine predation risk and will often alter foraging habits in favor of avoiding predators.
Wikipedia contributors, Darwin's leaf-eared mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:02:50.692133+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phyllotis darwini (Waterhouse, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Waterhouse, 1837)
- Common name
- Darwin's Leaf-eared Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Phyllotis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilySigmodontinae Wagner, 1843
- genusPhyllotis Waterhouse, 1837
- speciesPhyllotis darwini (Waterhouse, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phyllotis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Friendly Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis amicus Thomas, 1900 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Andean Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis andium Thomas, 1912 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lima PericotePhyllotis limatus Thomas, 1912 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bunchgrass Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis osilae J. A. Allen, 1901 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wolffsohn's Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis wolffsohni Thomas, 1902 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-rumped Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis xanthopygus (Waterhouse, 1837) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bonaerense PericotePhyllotis bonariensis Crespo, 1964 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Capricorn Leaf-eared MousePhyllotis caprinus Pearson, 1958 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ancash PericotePhyllotis definitus Osgood, 1915 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ecuadoran PericotePhyllotis haggardi Thomas, 1898 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Mus boedeckeri Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus megalotis Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | ambiguous synonym |
| Mus melanonotus Philippi in Philippi & Landbeck, 1858 Philippi in Philippi & Landbeck, 1858 | synonym |
| Mus platytarsus Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus segethi Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus campestris Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | ambiguous synonym |
| Mus dichrous Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus griseoflavus Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus illapelinus Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus melanotis Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Mus mollis Philippi, 1900 Philippi, 1900 | synonym |
| Phyllotis darwini fulvescens Osgood, 1943 Osgood, 1943 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=633304 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4HCZX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.